Liverpool won the Norwich England Cup 2-1.
Teemu Pukki defended the ball from Takumi Minamino. AOP
Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp could leave for the Norwich matches on Wednesday night with reasonable confidence.
It had been almost 28 years since the previous victory of the Canaries on Anfield Road, and this season the teams had already faced three times – all ending in a victory for the Pool.
Klopp circulated his players a lot. As many as ten men came in as a new opening compared to Sunday’s league cup final, when only the skipper Jordan Henderson retained his place in the Pool crew.
Low time left Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino were allowed to lead the Reds’ attack, and Teemu Pukki continued as usual at the tip of Norwich.
Minamino decided
Kotkalainen got an excellent place to play a quarter of an hour after the game. The buck strayed first Curtis Jonesingot his free kick, but distracted past the back post.
Buck missed a similar spot in Friday’s league game against Southampton. On Anfield Road, the Finn’s mistake was reversed at less than half an hour, when Origi sucked in a couple of Norwich defenders and then freed Minamino to score with a cunning pass.
The Japanese national team star finished elegantly past the Norwich mill Tim Krulin.
Minamino bombarded the 2-0 lead before the break. With 39 minutes played, a phenomenal play on the left side freed Eduardo Alves, of FC, to dash through and score another goal for the visitors. A hard pull sank into the net through the pole.
Chelsea to continue
The two-goal losing position virtually stopped Norwich’s pursuit. In the second period, Liverpool also took a leg off the gas, and the latter four-tonne was surfed quite safely from side to side.
Guest manager Dean Smith took Pukin off the field an hour after the game. The Finn followed from the exchange bench how Lukas Rupp halved their lead after 76 minutes. The German squatted the ball with the power of the Pool Vessary Alissonin past when the topper Joe Gomez had given him too much space.
However, Norwich did not make any of the two final finals, and Liverpool advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-1 home win.
The story continues after the picture.
Romelu Lukaku grabbed Chelsea’s winning goal on Kenilworth Road. AOP
Norwich’s main goal is still to keep the league, and the English Cup was a small distraction for it anyway. The team will face in a much more significant match on Saturday Christian Eriksen strengthened Brentford.
It also emerged on Wednesday that Southampton and Chelsea will also continue in the top eight in the Cup. Soton defeated West Ham 3–1 at home, while Chelsea, burdened with sales talks, barely knocked down Luton on its own Kenilworth Road 3–2.
The home team took the lead twice against the Blue, however Romelu Lukaku finished Timo Wernerin in the 78th minute.